No relief in sight, Rays get clobbered by Tigers

ST. PETERSBURG -- It didn't matter who Joe Maddon sent to the mound Tuesday night. They all surrendered at least two runs.

The Rays used five pitchers. You do the math.

It was one of those thorough thrashings. Detroit scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 14-2 rout of Tampa Bay in front of 11,518 fans at Tropicana Field.

Even if the Tigers looked back, the Rays were not as close as they appeared.

Casey Fossum (3-5) continues to pitch his way to the bullpen. The left-hander surrendered five or more runs for the sixth time in 10 starts.

He failed to record an out in the second inning, leaving after giving up seven hits and five runs. Fossum's earned run average rose to 7.89.

"They got to me early," said Fossum, after his shortest outing since June 7, 2003, when he lasted an inning while with Boston at Milwaukee. "They jumped on the first pitch. Before I knew it, it was over."

Maddon wasn't ready to concede Fossum's turn in the starting rotation is over.

"We're evaluating things constantly," the manager said. "For right now, I really have nothing to give you concrete."

Maddon could not provide anything concrete on what ails Fossum, other than the fact his fastball is not as fast as it has been.

"I'd have to see the video," Maddon said. "They were hitting his fastball. He wasn't even able to get to the breaking ball in most situations. I don't have a solid answer."

When Fossum is not hitting 90 on the radar guns, his breaking ball is less effective.

"I just have to figure out what to do and make some adjustments," he said. "Some games it's worked, and some games it hasn't. Obviously, this is one game where it didn't."

Of the 10 Tigers Fossum faced, eight reached base, including Gary Sheffield, who socked the first of his two home runs in the first inning.

"I just didn't set the tone early," Fossum said. "I put us in a hole from the beginning."

The bullpen did not help.

Tim Corcoran pitched well for four innings, before permitting three straight singles to open the sixth.

With a 5-1 deficit, the Rays were still in the game, until Shawn Camp came in.

Continuing to struggle early, Camp permitted a two-run single to Brandon Inge, making first hitters 8-for-24 (.333) against him.

All three runners Camp inherited were charged to him, lifting the percentage to 44 percent of inherited runners scored.

Camp also allowed two of his own runs to score, permitting Sheffield's second round-tripper of the game and 12th of the season.

"That was a crucial part," Maddon said. "That's why I brought Camper in there to see if we could keep it there."

Jae Kuk Ryu surrendered two runs in the seventh. Jae Seo allowed a two-run homer to Ivan Rodriguez in the ninth.

"That was not a very positive experience," Maddon said.

Rays-Tigers game notes

Detroit starter RH Jeremy Bonderman fanned eight and did not walk a batter in 6.1 innings. He allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) to improve to 4-0. ... It was Sheffield's 34th multi-homer game of his career and his first this season. With three homers in the first two games of this series, he passed Dave Winfield for sole possession of 29th place on baseball's all-time list. ... It was the third time a Tampa Bay starter failed to record two innings this season. ... The Rays have been outscored 43-16 in the first inning this season. ... Tampa Bay is 3-19 in games decided by three or more runs. ... RF Delmon Young picked up his eighth assist, gunning down RF Magglio Ordonez at third base on the fly. ... Rays pitchers have surrendered a major league-high 67 homers.